


A Mind is a Well-Oiled Machine

by Infy



Category: Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors
Genre: Drabble Collection, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-27
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2017-12-27 18:44:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/982306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infy/pseuds/Infy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An ongoing collection of Zhuge Liang/Yueying and Zhuge Liang/Jiang Wei-centered drabbles. Fair warning, I write Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei STRICTLY as a father/son relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Respite (ZL/YY)

Kongming finally rose from his spot on the floor (he never sat in a chair whenever he was starved for thought, he felt as though the essence of the ground and the earth itself flowed through him when he got closer to it, a notion he knew was foolish but still believed anyway), making sure he meticulously picked up each and every scroll on the floor, every brush, every map. Everything had its place, and even though he could barely keep his eyes open, he forced himself awake long enough to put everything exactly where it was supposed to be. After his hands were emptied he stood there for a moment, taking a few seconds to register that he had nothing left to do for the night.

He thought of going out to say good night to his wife; Yueying had always claimed she was a night owl, doing her best work in the dead of night when there was nobody around to bother her. He took quiet steps outside to where she usually worked—the sting of the winter air hit him the second he exited, and her work station was tidy as always, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Curious…” he muttered to himself, putting a finger to his lips and raising an eyebrow. He usually didn’t trust suppositions, but he knew she was safe somewhere (she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, he figured) and he was ready to collapse from exhaustion where he stood. Her voice rang in his head, telling him over and over to get some rest, to think of his health. He couldn’t help himself—a sleepy smile crept across his face as he shrugged his coat over his shoulders, gripping it closed with his hands to keep out the frigid air. “You’ve trained me well, my dear,” he chuckled to himself as he returned indoors.

It was rare that Yueying and Zhuge Liang shared a bed—when one slept, the other was nearly always up working. And as such, Zhuge Liang never quite expected the sight that greeted him when he walked in the door.

Still dressed in her work clothes, Yueying lay curled up on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Her red hair spilled around her, strands falling to her side with the even rise and fall of her chest. The sound of her husband entering the room caused her to roll over with a softly mumbled “mmh…” to face him. Her lips were slightly parted, and she nuzzled closer to the pillow, shivering slightly. Zhuge Liang sat next to her on the bed, reaching over a tentative hand to brush a bit of sawdust and gunpowder off of her white jacket. A bit of black dust speckled her face, and Zhuge Liang chuckled a bit, knowing how terrible she would feel for falling asleep before cleaning herself up.

He could see her in his mind’s eye, sitting down for a moment, closing her eyes. “I’m just… resting them for a moment before I get back to work,” she’d say. And before she knew it she was fast asleep. 

With a contented sigh, he lay down beside her, and her eyes fluttered open into a droopy stare. They met his, and the corners of her lips only barely rose. “My lord…” she muttered, nearly too tired to say anything beyond that.

Zhuge Liang smiled warmly at her, placing a hand on her cheek and rubbing off a bit of stray gunpowder. “Shh…” he whispered gently, part of him feeling guilty that he had made so much noise. “Go back to sleep, my dear. I am sorry I woke you.”

Yueying shut her eyes again, scooting closer to him, and he rested his arm on her waist. She was cold to the touch. Surely she would catch a chill. He silently slunk away from under her arm, fetching a quilt and draping it over her. “There,” he breathed, crawling under the quilt himself and holding her closer.

“Thank you, my lord,” she murmured, her head nuzzling into him.

Come to think of it, there was one last thing Zhuge Liang hadn’t remembered to do before drifting off. Thankfully, it was a simple task. What a relief that he had committed it to memory; it was truly the most important thing to do that day. 

Kongming softly brushed his lips across his wife’s cheek. “Good night, my dear.”

And with that, he could rest easy. He was done for the day.


	2. Remembrance (ZL/YY)

Kongming laid the flowers on her grave, sighing and staring at her name engraved on the stone.

Yueying had been dead for a few years now - there was no reason for him to be as sad as he was whenever he visited her grave. There was no logic behind it, but logic and emotion, he found, were two completely different things. It made no logical sense to spend all day searching for her favorite flowers either, but he did that as well. He pretended he had a reason—it was a lot easier than he thought it would be.

"Good evening, my dear," he began, sitting quietly, folding his hands in his lap. "It has certainly been a while, hasn’t it…?" He trailed off into a fit of coughs. "I… I apologize. It seems I have had my hands full."

He trailed his hand along the stone, tracing the characters of her name with the pads of his fingers. “But I know that I still have many more things to accomplish before I can join you and Lord Liu Bei.” He took a deep breath, his lungs whistling as he inhaled, and he could barely exhale without coughing violently. “But do not worry, Yueying. Please wait for me. I will be there soon.”


	3. Dreaming of Dragons (ZL/JW)

Zhuge Liang held the boy close—the wound was too large for even the dragon's mighty wisdom to know how to save.

All he could do was make sure he was… comfortable.

"My boy…" Zhuge Liang whispered, his soothing voice still keeping its composed lilt, albeit a break here and there, "I'm sorry…"

Jiang Wei lifted his eyelids, his brown irises clouded over with fear. "It… it's alright, Prime Minister… I just take solace in that… you're… safe." Each word visibly pained him, and Zhuge Liang pressed a finger to the boy's lips.

"Shh… you don't need to say anything. Not if it hurts you." He ran gentle fingers through the boy's hair, and Jiang Wei shuddered. Zhuge Liang furrowed his brow. "You look… afraid, my boy."

There was a long pause as the young strategist found his breath again, each word escaping his mouth in gasping wisps. "I don't know what… what death will bring me…. I'm afraid…" He pawed at the air for a moment with his shaking hand, his twitching fingers, frail from weakness. Kongming took it in his own hand, gently holding it as he met his pupil's eyes. The boy's next words stung him—the finality of the situation finally hit him, and his face hardened.

"Will… will it hurt…?"

It wasn't about Shu anymore. The land of benevolence that Liu Bei, that his brothers, that Zhuge Liang himself sought out so fervently… that could all wait for now. All that mattered at the moment was Jiang Wei. Consoling his pupil as he slowly faded away. Zhuge Liang took a deep breath, exhaling out of his nose.

"No, Jiang Wei… no, it won't hurt. All you are doing is drifting off to sleep." His voice remained calm, gentle. Like silk, smooth and comforting. Jiang Wei managed to inhale, taking a deep breath.

"S-sleep, Prime Minister…?" He breathed. "Will… will I dream…?"

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly, his vision blurring behind the tears he tried to hold back. "O-of course, my boy."

"D-do you know… w-what I'll… dream about, Prime Minister…?" The boy's voice faded slowly, into a quiet whisper, one that Zhuge Liang had to lean into to entirely understand through the still sounds of the night and the ambient chirping of the crickets.

The dragon's hands held his pupil's firmly. His fingers were stiff and tense, even as he tried to will them gentler. "I think…" he began, the lump in his throat not allowing his words passage. "I think you're the only one who can know that, Jiang Wei…"

Jiang Wei squeezed his hand, signalling his mentor to lean in closer. "C-can I tell you… what I want to dream…?"

Zhuge Liang smiled warmly, his voice breaking. "Of course."

"I want to dream… of… dragons."

"Of dragons, my boy…?"

"Of three… three dragons… circling a peach blossom…"

Zhuge Liang quirked an eyebrow. "Go on…"

"And they knock on another dragon's door… three times, they knock, before the other dragon joins them, circling that peach blossom. A phoenix as well. An old tiger, a mysterious masked stranger… A dog and a pheasant… dreaming… all of them… dreaming of a peach tree. And s-soon… soon the three dragons fly away. But the rest remain…"

Zhuge Liang smiled knowingly, chuckling under his breath as he held the boy's hand. "And when you join them…?"

Boyue smiled faintly, his eyes red from tears. "I… I don't know yet… b-but… I do know… I'd like to help them find that peach tree." He squeezed Kongming's hand again, his eyes fluttering closed. "And people… would come from everywhere to eat the peaches… and all the dragons would be proud. T-that is… what I would like to dream of…" He took one final breath, his chest rising evenly as he sighed with a faint smile on his face.

"When I… sleep…"

Zhuge Liang shut his eyes tightly, felt the boy's life slip away, fade out from under his very fingertips. But even as the body the dragon held so close to him went limp, he still held that hand.

He held his prodigy tightly, a stray tear falling from his eyes, staining the boy's pale cheek. No, Kongming would not let go of that hand. Not until he was sure that Boyue was dreaming of dragons.


	4. Wuzhang (ZL/JW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Italics written by Delia (tumblr user angelspearofbenevolence).

_"Prime Minister?" he uttered, eyes widening in shock, and watering as well in disbelief. Why? Why must he go now? Wei knew well that he was not ready to take command. There was so much he has yet to learn... But why must he die now? Clinging onto Kongming's form, he used his hands to staunch the blood and pleaded, "Please Prime Minister... Please remain," his tears fell down his face as he murmured, "I... cannot bear to lose someone who became a father to me..."_

Zhuge Liang shifted slightly, gasping in pain. Under any other circumstance, he would have tried to hide it, but he knew Jiang Wei would understand. The blood drained from his body in weak pulses, and he knew his time would soon be up.

"A… a father, am I…?" he breathed, reaching up with his hand and gripping the young strategist’s shoulder as tightly as he could. "J-Jiang Wei… listen to me, my boy…" The blood flow became weaker, and his grip on Jiang Wei’s shoulder slightly loosening as he continued, tears staining his wise eyes no matter how hard he tried to fight them.

"My boy… I believe in you… I have trained you well. I-it is your time now. Everything now is… up… to you." Even as he faded away slowly in Jiang Wei’s arms, his smile did not fade from his face—but now he smiled for a different reason. He smiled not out of arrogance or smug confidence, but now he smiled…

"I smile for… for the future of Shu… for the future you will usher in… a land of… b-benevolence and virtue." His hand tensed for a final time. "I smile… for you… Jiang Wei. I believe in you…" His eyes fluttered shut, his hand trembling as it slid from the prodigy’s shoulder. He took one final breath, his chest heaving as he uttered the last words he would ever speak.

"I-I will be with you always…"


	5. A Little Sleepy (ZL/JW)

"And thus," Zhuge Liang rolled up the scroll in his hands, placing it to the side. "Is the background information for this battle. Now, Jiang Wei, I would like to ask you: what strategy would best be employed in this scenario…?" He turned his head to the side to glance over at his pupil to find the young strategist’s eyes were shut, and he was asleep on Kongming’s shoulder. Liang knew he felt the boy leaning up against his arm as he read from the scroll, but he hadn’t noticed he was asleep until now—the even rise and fall of his shoulders, his slightly open mouth… he was out cold. Zhuge Liang chuckled slightly before adjusting himself to make the boy more comfortable. "Perhaps we shall continue our lesson in a few hours. You have done very well, my boy. I am proud." Kongming leaned his head onto Jiang Wei and shut his own eyes, the incredible feeling of finally being able to rest overwhelming him; he took a deep breath and sighed, drifting away into sleep as well.


	6. Reunion (ZL/YY)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yueying here is written by tumblr user ladyhuangyueying.

"My dear." Zhuge Liang leaned over, cradling her hand gently in his, and placed a kiss on the top of it. "Of all the sights in the world, there is none more rewarding than the sight of your face after my long absence. I trust you are well?"

"My Lord Husband, you truly flatter me." Blushing, she met his hand, and held it firm. "I am more than well now that you have returned to me. Is there anything I can do for you?"

A slight chuckle passed the Prime Minister’s lips, and he shut his eyes lightly. “Yueying, my dear, you mustn’t busy yourself for my sake. All I require of you is your company.”

"Well then… perhaps we could just take a stroll of the gardens? The foliage has blossomed quite beautifully." She linked arms with her husband, and rested her head on his shoulder lovingly. 

Her touch was a sensation he truly missed, and her eagerness to take a walk with him, though expected, brought him joy he hadn’t felt in his absence. His usual blank smile grew wider into a real one, one that drew a chuckle from his lips, and he lowered his fan slightly. “Has it…?”

“I would love to walk with you. I haven’t seen the gardens as of late.”

Brimming with happiness, she embraced the aura of warmth and comfort her husband radiated, as they strolled in complete synchronicity through the gardens. There was no need for words, she simply looked deep into Zhuge Liangs wise eyes, and conveyed her words through her expression.

I love you, I missed you.

As he looked down at her, she realized how much she truly had missed him. He was the only man who had ever made her feel beautiful.

As if cued by her expression, brimming with happiness, presumably at his return, he paused his leisurely pace for only a moment. “Yueying, my dear…” His arms curled around her, and he pulled her into an embrace.

For a moment he stood there, holding her tightly against him, until he finally spoke, his words little more than a soft breath. “I am blessed to return to you. And for your faith in me, I must thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Even though the sounds of the crickets and cicadas chirping pierced through the crisp, cool breeze, the only thing Zhuge Liang heard were the sounds of his words and Yueying’s even, gentle breaths as he held her close.

Yueying held onto her love tight, as he held onto her. His embrace seemed to completely envelop her, drowning out all her senses. She contently forgot herself in that moment. Until she opened her eyes, and realized that somehow the sun had departed, and the moon occupied the sky in its stead. Moving her head ever-so-slightly towards him, she mouthed to the Dragon, “My darling husband, it is late, we should head inside…” 

"Must we…?" He rested his head gently against hers, laughing under his breath. "I am quite content with watching the moon." He loosened his hold on her, glancing up at the full moon in the night sky. His arms nudged her, prompting her to look at it. "Look how brilliant it is. It reminds me of you."


	7. Tea (ZL/YY)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An RP I did with a lovely anon on tumblr who RP'd Yueying!

Yueying was tall as a young tree, lithe, able to bear children and build mass weaponry. Endowed with the tremendous vitality of youth, yet so hard and resistant to hurt that she could go through hours of intellectual study and archery practice tirelessly. But despite her mental strength, her thin, exotic face was in a bit of distress as she looked up at her husband. She was gentle with him, practically a different person in his presence. "My lord, fare thee well?"

Zhuge Liang’s polite smile broadened at the sight of her. "I am indeed well, my dear. You seem distressed, however. I must ask what I can do to ease you."

A half smile peeked her cheek slightly upward. "No, it is only my concern for you that ills me, my lord." Yueying's hand slightly hovered over his shoulder, a gesture barely considered a real, tangible touch.

"Is that so, my dear…?" Zhuge Liang spoke to her gently, in tenderly spoken whispers. His hand ghosted over hers, his fingertips lightly grazing the back of her hand before holding it delicately like a precious piece of porcelain. Slowly he brought it to his lips, brushing them gently upon it. "You mustn’t worry for me, Yueying. For now, you are by my side, and for now, that is all that matters to me." He opened his eyes to glance up into hers. "I am blessed by the heavens themselves to have you so close to me. My health matters not."

A light brush of vermilion was painted on her cheek as he kissed her hand. Swallowing down whatever was gathering in her throat, she said in a steady voice quieter than his, "Your health matters to me, my love." Zhuge Liang was the only man that could melt her this way. The only one who made her this nervous. But that was fine. In fact, she rather liked it.

A quiet laugh trilled from his throat, and he placed a gentle hand on her waist, drawing her closer to him. “Then, my dear…” he took her in an embrace, his other hand snaking around her, to try and comfort her in some way. "I am even more blessed than I believed I was." He shut his eyes, the muscles in his hands still soft as they ran themselves through a lock of long, red hair. The words he spoke were just as gentle as his hands, passing his lips in whispers and calming breaths. "To have a wife that stays by my side no matter the adversity is one thing. But to have a wife who truly cares for me and worries herself with my health…" he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through his nose. "There are few greater honors for me than to have you in my heart."

Ah. There he was. Her husband. Relaxed. Yueying's usually hidden smile fluttered upwards. She'd done her duty, nothing more. She didn't need to be held, but not resistant to his beckon, she drew close. Her tall thumb sliding over his jaw, she half-teasingly chuckled to him, while avoiding his eyes, "You have such a way with words. I am your wife. It is my duty, and joy, to look after you."

All he could do was let out a breath of air—he himself was unsure if it was a sigh, a laugh, or somewhere in between—and draw her face near to his so that he could once again meet her eyes. Her smile was beautiful when she showed it. It was beyond him how anybody had warned him that she was unattractive before he had met her. His skin tingled pleasantly at her touch, and he softly shut his eyes again, tilting his head to lean into her hand.

“And for that, I cannot thank you enough.” He raised his eyelids slightly and gazed into her bright eyes for a moment, before his duties came to mind once more. “Come, my dear…” He beckoned her, drawing away slowly. “It’s growing dark out. Perhaps we may have time to share some tea before I must return to my work.”

/Perhaps?/ She thought to herself, being led away from his study room. "Dearest, have you have forgotten, you /must/ take medicinal tea before nightfall. Not another word of your duties this moment." A dutiful woman she was, but a doting wife she was also. She needed to guide him away from his study material. "Sit here, and I shall prepare it for you." 

He found himself chuckling softly at her persistence. Far be it for him to tell her no in any situation. A heavy, yet lighthearted sigh escaped his lips. “I suppose I have forgotten,” he lied, a lilting tone of amusement in his voice. He hid a smile poorly behind a bent finger to his upper lip. “But, my dear, as determined as you are to keep me from work, I am afraid I have no choice in the matter. I must do what is required of me. However…” he gently bowed his head in a gesture of submission. "I can always make time for tea with my beloved, especially if she is the one preparing it." He sat, folding his hands in his lap. "I thank you, Yueying."

Yueying worked with nimble yet careful hands to prepare a little pot made just for him. She was not very learnt in the use of medicinal herbs, but from the little she knew, she brewed a tea that would control blood pressure, and soothe his late-night migraines. Approaching humbly to him once the task was complete, she bowed her head respectfully and poured his cup. Once he had drank from it, she trailed her eyes slowly to his hands. "Does it suit you?"

He watched her work from afar, his mind turning over the things he still had left to check off of his to-do list for only a brief few moments before remembering her order. Nothing about my duties, he mused to himself, instead forcing his attention to begin concentrating on the way her hands moved when she prepared the herbs for him. Little nicks and cuts from her tinkering with her “pets” as she liked to call her inventions dotted her hands here and there, and yet her fingers were still gentle, delicate. Beautiful. He rubbed his own fingers together absentmindedly, calloused and rough. He so heavily concentrated on her hands that he hadn’t noticed that she had made her way over to him with a pot and cup. He respectfully took it, bowing his head in response to her. “Thank you, my dear,” he said softly, taking a first sip. There was something about a pot of tea brewed with love that made it taste much better than it usually would. “It is delicious, Yueying. However…” he glanced down at it as the steam rose. “There is something missing, my dear… and I believe I may know what it is.” With a contented smile, he returned his gaze to his wife who stood before him, her hands folded in front of her.

Yueying's brow knotted slightly, concentrating on her previous actions. Had she arranged everything right? Looking a little behind her where she boiled the water, she scanned the area quickly to see if she had cleaned everything up. To her knowledge, nothing was missing. But she was open to being wrong. "Forgive me, my lord, I must have forgotten something entirely."

"Yes, you have." He nodded slightly, reaching up slowly to take her hand and flashing her a warm smile. "You’ve forgotten the most important thing." At her expression, he laughed lightly, his commonplace blank smile replaced now with a real one. "Yueying, my dear, you’ve forgotten to make yourself one. Forgive me, but I cannot truly enjoy this tea that you’ve made me if you don’t have a cup to enjoy yourself." She had looked so stressed lately, and he truly did worry for her. She busied herself with his health so much that she didn’t bother herself with her own. She bore a heavy burden on her shoulders, and yet she still put on a brave face. "Your selflessness…" he finally breathed, "it is truly admirable, but it is unhealthy for you. You insist that I relax, but how can I do so if I know that you are distressed…?"

As he took her hand, Yueying leaned herself closer in, responding to the unusual playfulness specking in his dark eyes, but still wondering as to what she had forgotten. When he mentioned that she had not made herself a cup, she chuckled slightly. "Drink your tea, my love." Moving to sit beside him, a quiet yet rebellious statement that she will do no such thing, she played a bit with his fingers. Cool, rough, beautiful. How interesting.

A chuckle left his throat once more as she sat next to him. He sighed dramatically (dramatic for him at least, even though it was a simple exhale with a barely audible hum) and calmly took another sip of his tea. “I see you have resigned yourself to making me die a painful death. You truly wound me, my love.” He knew she’d see through his sarcasm, even though he knew it was really nothing to joke about. But to make sure she knew he wasn’t serious, he flashed her a sidelong glance and a contented smile as her gentle touches brushed across his fingers. He supposed if she were willing to spend her time with him regardless of whether she had tea or not, it was good enough. She was there, and that was all that mattered.


	8. Father's Day (ZL/JW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiang Wei is written by Delia (tumblr user angelspearofbenevolence)!

Jiang Wei did not have much time to do something great for the Prime Minister, however he wanted to do something for him for this day. To at least give some form of gift to the Dragon. Boyue knew there was no way he was going to enter the room unannounced, and knocked at the wood frame, as he held a small plate of food that he cooked, with some tea as well. “May I come inside Prime Minister?” Boyue asked, hoping he could do this one thing for Father’s Day.

"Yes, Jiang Wei," came the voice from on the other side. Zhuge Liang was much too engrossed in his paperwork to look over at what Jiang Wei had brought him, but the smell of the food caught his attention and turned his head. He raised an eyebrow and gave the young prodigy a smile. “What’s all this, then…?”

His eyes showed his obvious shock, oh how he hoped he cooked the food correctly, or the tea brewed right. His mind was in a panic in a mere moment, but he smiled slightly as he spoke, “I had made this for you Prime Minister. Happy Father’s Day.”

A glint shone in the Prime Minister’s eyes. “Father’s day, you say…?” His eyes went to the tea, and he bowed his head in thanks as he gently took the cup and brought it to his lips. He let out a contented sigh and smiled—it was delicious. “Thank you, my boy. But, surely, there is a man more deserving than I of your attention on such a day…?”

Yes, there was someone he should do this for instead… However, Boyue barely knew him, for he had died when he was far too little. And since this is the day for a person who is considered a father, he came here. "I had already paid my respects to my real father, Prime Minister. It took me yesterday to go there and see to him," Wei explained, his smile was there, but it was rather sad. He could convince himself to lie, but he could not.

The boy’s expression said it all. “I see,” the dragon breathed gently, placing a hand on his pupil’s shoulder. "I, too, know the feeling of losing a father at a young age, my boy." Zhuge Liang met the boy’s sorrowful smile with one of his own. "It seems we must look out for each other, then. Isn’t that so, Jiang Wei?" He motioned for Jiang Wei to sit down next to him as he took another sip of tea. "I am truly honored to have become like a father to you. Although it may not show, even this simple gesture fills my heart with joy." Liang’s smile grew wider.

It was a shock to hear something like that coming from the Prime Minister. Let alone the praise afterwards. It really did give him great honor to do something right. Especially under his standards. He really did see him as a father, it was the reason why he would do this at this moment. He and Lady Yueying had given him something he thought defecting would take away: a family. Yet, here he was, someone who shouldn’t even have such a thing… Being given such a gift. It brought a smile to his face, “Yes, Prime Minister. And I will do what I can to watch for you.”

The gratitude in the young prodigy’s voice was overwhelming. The boy here was a shining example of what times of peace must bring—it didn’t matter, it never had, that Jiang Wei was once a Wei soldier. None of that mattered. He had kept the strategist company through the brightest and darkest of times; never did Zhuge Liang ever lose faith in him, and never did he lose faith in Zhuge Liang. Family was the only word that existed anymore to describe the boy, and he hadn’t entirely internalized that thought until just now. Zhuge Liang smiled wider, ruffling the boy’s hair. Family. “Thank you, Jiang Wei.”

"…My son."

His gratitude did far more than what he could ever do. To hear it all was one thing: but the one thing that forced tears in Jiang Wei's eyes were his last words. My son. It held more than what one could say, his thoughts and perception on him and his wife were true. It only came to solidify his heart on that one concept.

The ruffling was very much welcomed, as he shook his head to explain, “No. If there is someone I should thank, I should be thanking you! Happy Father’s Day… Father.”


	9. Womb (ZL/YY)

Yueying hadn’t quite finished everything on her to-do list before she found herself sitting again. It was unlike the engineer to be so exhausted so quickly—she had previously chalked it up to simply being pregnant, but today, against her better judgment, she was slowly beginning to convince herself that the damn thing inside her was sapping her life force away. Absentminded fingertips rested upon her abdomen. “I can’t even see my feet anymore.”

"Truly…? You aren’t that far along, are you?” The voice of her husband from the next room over caught her attention. She hadn’t even realized he was in there. A cup of tea in hand, he gave it to her and sat on the floor next to her. “We must have done well; our baby is growing like a weed.”

"He’s running out of room, I imagine, since he’s been moving as much as he has." A rather heavy sigh escaped Yueying’s lips, despite her usual insistence on keeping her exhaustion hidden. "I like how you get to do the fun part and I have to do all the work." Yueying smirked as she took a sip of tea, the uncharacteristically vulgar joke catching Zhuge Liang by surprise. He raised an eyebrow with a smile, leaning over and placing his hand over her womb.

"I believe the fun part is not quite over yet. Simply seeing you two together is the most fun I have had in a long time." He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her stomach, and Yueying smiled warmly, giving another sigh, this one a contented chuckle. "He seems to be a handful, my dear."

"Just like his father," Yueying mused, sliding from her seat onto the floor next to him, and she leaned towards Zhuge Liang, and kissed his lips softly.


	10. All the Way to Wuzhang

And we move out. The plans have been made.

Despite all his ill health and hardship, despite the sacrifices of his dear comrades, despite the lives of his dearest friends drifting away on the breeze with nothing in their wakes but empty shells and the sweet yet melancholy scent of one slowly decaying dream, he endured sleepless night after sleepless night planning out the battle he was unsure would even take place. Each move that Wei could have begun to make, each chance for a smirk to cross the smug faces of Sima Yi and his sons, he would be there.

Lightning flashes, and he raises drooping eyes to stare at the darkening sky above him. A coughing fit tears from his throat, and he garners a few stares and even fewer foolish enough to ask him if he is alright.

Even though he knows he will die here, even though he has not had the chance to make peace and say his goodbyes, he sits, silently mulling over the plans in his head as his horse carries him all the way to Wuzhang.

And we move out. The machines have been built.

She had slaved for months over them, each formula dancing in her head, perfecting the engineering, ensuring the math was correct in every sense, from every angle. A day, a night, had not passed, it seemed, that she did not have a tool in her hand, a brush between her fingers crunching numbers and putting them all in place. Not a shred of wood was frayed, not a piece of metal out of place. The unfortunate animals that happened to be present when the flamethrowers were tested were given a proper burial (and some of them tasted rather delicious with that leftover peanut sauce). It had been months of exhaustion and training and manual labor before she was finally able to say “eureka” in celebration of a job well done. And even now, the quality of her work still remains to be seen.

Thunder pounds across the sky, and she glances up from the scrolls in her bandaged hand--an ailment due to the dully throbbing scrapes and cuts from her work. Her mare shifts uncomfortably from the sound, but at her gentle urging, the animal's breath slows.

As she supervises, the numbers run through her head once more. It takes nearly fifty carts and a hundred horses to transport every last one of her creations so lovingly dubbed as her pets from outside her workshop, and bring them all the way to Wuzhang.

And we move out. The torch has been passed.

It wasn't until the journey over to this battlefield that he realized it was the end of his mentor's teachings. The more he mulls it over, he begins to realize the less it should have surprised him. His health had always been a concern, but the thing weighing most heavily on his mind now is the future of Shu. Nothing had ever pressed more heavily on his chest than the knowledge that the fate of the kingdom, the hard work of all the great men before him, their hopes, their dreams, would now fall to him. But he knows he shouldn't address it directly. He has more important things to be concerned with. He had been so preoccupied with aiding his mentor in all his plans that the gravity of this campaign hadn't even occurred to him.

Raindrops begin to fall, and he holds out an absentminded hand, casting a glance above him at the night sky. Silence pervades, the only sound being the marching beat of the soldiers around him; he wants so badly to break it, but a glance over at the man who had within the past few years become much more a father to him than his own says every word that needs to be spoken.

His silence carries around the biting wind, and the clouds pour despair and anxiety. He feels pressure behind his eyes, and he is forced to hold back the agonized tears that threaten to pour out from the horrid muddle of rain, and sweat, and the knowledge that death is slowly closing in all around them. There are no words exchanged between them, not one, all the way to Wuzhang.

We move out.

His coughs subside for a brief moment, and he remains silent, his eyes trained on his fan.

She takes a deep breath, casting her eyes forward after the arbalests and juggernauts are all accounted for, and furrows her brow without a word.

He stares, pursing his lips and attempting to keep his mouth shut, and not break down in a fit of rage at why this man, of all men in the land, has to die.

All the way to Wuzhang.


End file.
